LOST YOUR DOG?

While out walking, dogs can wander off. They usually retrace their route back
to where they left you but you could well have moved on. If a dog has visited
the area before it usually knows the route home so it will often return
home or to your car before you unless someone intercepts it.

If your dog has been missing for more than 12 hours you need to start checking
with the Police, Dog Warden, vets and rescue organisations.

YOU ONLY HAVE 7 DAYS

You have 7 days to find your dog before it is put up for re-homing or
destroyed.

If you trace your dog after that time for example in a rescue centre it is
usually cheaper to adopt the dog since the fines will total more than the
rescue are asking for it.

POLICE

It is a legal requirement that a 'found' dog is reported to the Police.
Unfortunately, some local police stations are not interested in lost dogs and
may not even keep a record of lost and found dogs reported to them. You can
phone them in the first instance but if they have no trace of the dog you
should write down as much detail of your dog as you can and give it to all the
police stations in your area. Visit them several times at different times of
the day. If your dog has been found and reported to them you may need to talk
to the person that it was reported to who may only be there at a certain time
of day.

The police usually only keep the dogs a few hours before passing it on to a
local Dog Warden or Rescue organisation.

Do not assume that because your dog is fitted with an identification
micro-chip that the Police will be able to trace it back to you. Some Police
stations do not have chip readers and those that do may not read the latest
version of micro-chip.

We suggest you make sure to get a Crime Number from the Police so your loss
is logged on their computer. And remember that dogs come under the Sale of
Goods Act and are therefore a chattel or 'good' which makes the theft of a
dog equal to having your car, watch, wallet etc. stolen.

If you believe your dog has been stolen and find the Police less than
helpful, you can always write to your MP, c/o House of Commons, London SW1A
0AA. So many dogs ARE stolen these days that it might help others if the
scale of the problem is brought to the attention of authorities.

DOG WARDEN

Dog Wardens are employed by the local council and usually keep stray dogs for 7
days and then pass them to a rescue centre that could be many miles from where
the dog was lost. Binfield Dog Rescue re-homes dogs from council pounds up to
150 miles away. If there is no room at any local rescue centre the dog could
be destroyed. Leave details of your lost dog with your local dog warden and
with dog wardens of neighbouring areas. Ask them where they send stray dogs
after 7 days.

VETS

Vets will usually treat an injured dog if they can. They will then pass it
along to their preferred Rescue Organisation that could be 50-100 miles from
where you lost your dog. Leave details of your dog with all the local vets and
ask them where they send stray dogs.

RESCUE CENTRES

The Police or a member of the public may take your dog directly to a rescue
centre. This could be 50-100 miles from where you lost the dog. Check the
yellow pages for rescue centres and leave details of your lost dog with them
along with several contact numbers (home, work, mobile and/or a person who is
likely to be in most of the time). Ask them for details of any other rescue
organisations they know of. Don't let them put you off by saying they don't
receive dogs from your area. Give them the information anyway.

MICROCHIPS

This system works like the registration plate on a car.
The microchip is a transponder that is about the size of a grain of rice and is
injected under the skin usually in the scruff of the neck. When a detector is
placed near the chip it transmits an identification code. This code is then
passed to Petlog (the dog version of the DVLC Swansea), they check the
database and tell the finder whom to contact regarding the dog.
If your dog moves house you just update the database - you don't have to remove the microchip.
Most vets and many rescue centres can fit these for £15-£30. Microchips are not a
substitute for a tag since very few people carry a chip reader in their pocket!
If your dog ends up with a dog warden you are more likely to get it back if it is microchipped.
A microchip can also be used to prove that the dog is yours
if ownership is disputed.

TAG YOUR DOG

Make sure your dog has attached to it a tag that has on it your house and
street number, your postcode, and phone numbers of people who can be contacted
during the day. Tags are better than containers because containers tend to unscrew and fall off.
Tags are also easier to read when wet.

FOUND DOGS

If your dog has been found it could be many miles away.
Some people who find dogs may keep them for several weeks before deciding to
hand them over to a rescue centre!

THINGS TO DO IF YOUR DOG IS MISSING

 Don't assume someone is going to find the dog
and return it to you.


Don't assume that the Police, Dog Warden, Vet, Rescue Organisation will
inform you if they find your dog even if it does have a collar tag or
micro-chip.


There is no central list of lost dogs. Give the details of your dog to
all the Police stations, Vets, Dog Wardens and Rescue Centres within at least a
50 mile radius of where you lost your dog.


Ask at all the local newsagents and Post Offices near to where you lost
the dog in case someone has mentioned it.


Check with the drivers at the taxi rank. They drive around the local area day
and night so are likely to see stray dogs wandering about.

 Make up some posters preferably with a
colour photograph (find someone with a computer and colour printer or a colour
photocopier). Give these to the postman and milkman in the area. They cover
the area slowly so are likely to see stray dogs wandering about.


If there are farms near where you lost the dog check whether your dog has been
seen. Ask to check
outbuildings, barns, etc as these are comforting places for a dog to shelter.


Keep checking with the above even if you have done so several times
already.